Why We Plan

Does anyone remember ordering a TripTik from AAA?

This was part of the anticipatory fun before a road trip – how we would get there, what cool stuff could we see on the way, and where we should eat, sleep and refuel. While today’s Waze app makes that planning almost instantaneous because of great coders and technology, the importance of planning your route is unchanged.

That same idea for goes for successful public relations and marketing communications campaigns. While this seems obvious to those of us entrenched in the industry, it bears repeating every now and then.

Recently, a prospective client insisted they have never had a PR firm set aside budget for discovery and planning. I wondered: Was it the budget part or the planning part that they had never heard of? Both of which reflect a misunderstanding of what PR practitioners do, how we do it, and the value inherent in the strategic planning process.

Research and planning done at the onset of any communications program ensures good ideas are cultivated, opportunities are identified, communications channels are prepared and messaging is set before deploying all of the tactics in our arsenal. Those one-time (or at least periodic) steps are vital; they set the benchmark for success, and ultimately, the ROI of a communications campaign. Well worth the financial investment.

It’s possible that perhaps some think public relations is just a collection of tactics – news releases, interviews and random social media posts.

But when done right, from planning-through-implementation, public relations campaigns can earn loyalty, win ballot initiatives and even save lives. I’d bet my APR and the Silver Anvil in the award case on it!